From 0 to 3 stores in under a year—dealer Kyle Coleman isn’t slowing down

The Coleman Automotive president says his group is on track to have 40 dealerships in the next 10 years. (3 min. read)

Author

Marcus Amick
June 09, 2025

Kyle Coleman

20-year auto retail veteran Kyle Coleman has been on quite an impressive run in a relatively short period as CEO of his Iowa-based Coleman Automotive Group..    

Coleman launched his company with the purchase of Spirit Lake Ford, Spirit Lake Chrysler Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Estherville Chevrolet-GMC. And within a year, the former general manager already has two more stores lined up to acquire—proving that strategy, betting on yourself, and thinking outside the box can play well in the business.

“We have three rooftops now. We have another acquisition that we will close on June 30,” Coleman told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D’Arc and Yossi Levi.

Big picture: The June 30 acquisition will mark Coleman Automotive Group’s first Japanese brand store—a Nissan dealership. 

Wait… Nissan? Yep, and you might want to hear Coleman out before rushing in to weigh in on the move.

“I'm bullish on Nissan, with some of the restructuring and things. I think they're getting more dealer-centric, from, you know, talking with friends that own Nissan stores…,” he explained.

Coleman also has a Chevy-GMC acquisition on deck for September in Iowa—making it Coleman Automotive Group’s fifth rooftop. 

“I feel like every broker, the big guys, they all know me now…At first, they ask a lot of questions, trying to make sure that I'm going to be able to get things over the curb. And I feel like I'm becoming the guy that…I do what I say…so I'm getting some of the better deals…some of the bigger deals and some bigger markets,” he said.  

Choosing the deals is about the balance sheet and the opportunity for growth, according to Coleman.  

“We're looking at planning volume heavily right now just because…my first two acquisitions, they're in a lot smaller markets, so we're looking at larger planning volumes. Also…we want to be broad across manufacturers…With Iowa franchise laws, I probably wouldn't be able to grow at the speed that I want to in any other state,” he added. 

Zooming out: Acquiring more desirable store brands like Honda and Toyota can be extremely challenging for a first-time owner.

Finding the money: One of Coleman’s most impressive moves in the business is his funding strategy.

“Last October, I partnered with a mutual colleague, and we formed our own private equity group…it's called Dealer Prime Equity,” he said.

The equity group will drive the growth of Coleman Automotive Group and the company’s “ultimate” acquisition goal—40 stores in 10 years, which the CEO contends aligns with the growth they’ve seen in just the last 12 months. 

Eyeing the bigger win: For the average new dealer group owner in the business with only a year under their belt, that 40-store goal might seem a bit unrealistic. However, it’s clear that Coleman’s is driven by something that goes well beyond a passion for auto retail..  

“There's always one person, in a family—that you look back on from any lineage and…something that was built—that made that decision. And I just decided that…I wanted to be that guy. I wanted to be the guy that built something…for future generations,” he said.

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